Gilbert drops the hammer: How Indians rolled to Game 1 win over West-Oak
Early in the season, the Gilbert High School baseball team was in search of a spark to get things going before games.
Seniors on the Gilbert squad had an idea — use a sledge hammer to end their team meetings. Before each game, Landon Snelling gets a running start and plants that hammer in the dirt in the middle of a circle of teammates.
That ritual has given the Indians a pregame jolt of energy, and the players have done their part during the games. The Indians on Tuesday night moved one step closer to a state championship.
Gilbert scored six runs in the third inning on its way to a 14-4 win over West-Oak in Game 1 of the Class 3A best-of-three state championship series.
Game 2 is 6 p.m. Thursday at West-Oak, with the Indians a win away from their fifth state championship and first since 2012.
“I think we just got a bunch of confidence and realized we are here to play and have fun. We have nothing to lose,” Gilbert’s Austin Waters said. “We have a bunch of chemistry together, so we have a good time.”
The Indians, which were the top seed from Region 5-3A, entered the postseason unranked in the S.C. Baseball Coaches Poll in Class 3A.
Some of their chemistry comes from 6:30 a.m. weight lifting and conditioning sessions that helped prepare the team for the season, Gilbert coach Ashley Burnett said.
“We had no complaining and they didn’t cheat themselves during conditioning and gave it their all. So that lets you know about their character,” Burnett said. “They have gotten better and better, and I am proud of them.”
Waters went 2-for-4 with four RBIs to give the large crowd at Gilbert plenty to cheer about.
Burnett said he noticed some fans coming to school as early as 9 a.m. to put down chairs in prime viewing spots. Fans started coming through the gates some two hours before first pitch.
Waters’ two-run run triple capped off Gilbert’s six-run sixth inning and gave the Indians a 10-1 lead.
West Oak got within 10-4 after scoring three in the fifth inning. The Indians committed three errors in the frame.
Gilbert ended the game with four runs in the sixth, capped off by Cooper Burkett’s RBI single to trigger the 10-run rule. Burkett was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Dylan Massey had two hits and two RBIs.
“Any time you get a three-game series, winning the first one surely helps,” Burnett said. “That being said, we still have two games to go and have to be ready to play in those as well.”
Edwin Amerson went 4 ⅔ innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out five.
Kurt Rogers had two RBIs and Austin Stephens had two hits to lead West-Oak, which is making its first championship appearance.
WP: Edwin Amerson LP: Kurt Rogers Hitters: W-O: Jordan Eaton 2-3; Austin Stephens 2-3 RBI; Kurt Rogers 1-3 2 RBI. G: Alex Dinkins 1-3 2 RBI; Nathan Reynolds 1-3 RBI; Ashby Vining 2-2 RBI; Dylan Massey 2-3 2 RBI; Austin Waters 2-4 4 RBI; Preston Price 1-3 RBI; Cooper Burkett 2-3 2 RBI
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 9:39 PM.
